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Old Man at the Window

1653, Artist: Samuel van Hoogstraten

 

 

Old Man at the Window

A pupil of Rembrandt, Hoogstraten wrote a treatise on art theory in which he explored the relationship between painting technique and spatial illusion. His speciality was trompe l’oeil, paintings that “deceive the eye” as does this one. An old man is gazing from a meticulously painted window with a stone frame. According to a tradition that is now presumed to be mistaken, the man is Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller (1579– 1654), who succeeded in gaining permission for Jews to live in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district. The picture was painted while Hoogstratens stay in Vienna.

Currently not displayed.

Object data

Object Name

Painting

Culture

Dutch

Dated

1653

Artist

Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627 - 1678 Dordrecht) - GND

Material

Canvas

Dimensions

111 cm × 86,5 cm
Framed: 118,5 cm × 94,8 cm × 5,5 cm

Signed

Inscribed at bottom right: SVH (ligated) 1653

Image rights

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie

Inv. No.

Gemäldegalerie, 378

Provenance

Since its creation in 1653 in imperial possession

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